Nintendo’s Wii U problems turn into a crisis

No matter how weak the Wii U sales are now, they are likely to get worse. The launch dates of key games seem to be slipping from March quarter to June quarter, including the important Pikmin, Wario and Wii Fit franchises. The Wii U now must depend on Rayman and Lego City in coming months.
(Wii U)

the wii u is like other nes consoles where gamers have to wait months and on for games so fanatics should be use to nintendos antics.

with the rumoured specs of ps4 which makes it like 12 times the power of the wii u and the imminent announcement of ps4 the wii u crisis will get worse and not like the crytek games which i like on pc. wii u is rubbish and finished

What game are you talking about? I have one and there isn't a single game that could have possibly lasted you until now... Honestly, I don't have a whole lot of free time and I'm completely out of Wii U games to play. Lego City Undercover is coming out soon, but then what? I have to wait another year for Super Smash Bros? I might not even like that. Battle Royale totally outdid SSB for me. What do I have to look forward to?

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has my attention and it's out in March so this article is trash to me. I plan on getting a PS4 but the damn thing hasn't even been officially announced yet. I see no doom in the Wii U future as long as they hold exclusivity over a few must have franchises.

I am accurately predicting the fall of Nintendo's Home Console production. There is only one console that Nintendo has produced that has beat their original NES sales of 62 million, that console being the Wii, which has sold roughly 97 million.

The Wii was a phenomenon with the casual market. Motion controls brought something new and fresh to the gaming scene that really took everyone by surprise. There were viral videos of women playing the Wii in their underwear, there were old people buying the Wii to play Bowling, there were people who really weren't gamers at all who bought the Wii for entertainment at parties, there were parents who bought the Wii for their kids, and then there were the hardcore Mario/Metroid/Zelda fans who also bought the Wii.

The WiiU however is in a completely different situation from its Wii counterpart. This time the WiiU has been released a year earlier than the PS4 and the Xbox 720. There are currently not many games available for the WiiU, with key game franchises being delayed for the system. The WiiU tablet has not taken the masses by storm like the WiiMote and Nunchuck controllers did. The electronics market has been saturated with tablets for the past 3 years, and therefore the Wiiu tablet controller does not stand out as a must have item to the general public.

The WiiU's hardware, while slightly more powerful than the PS3 and Xbox 360, has not shown itself to be anything more than a current generation console. Meanwhile there is a large amount of hype in the gaming industry regarding the imminent release of the PS4 and Xbox 720. People are focused with anticipation on the higher capabilities of Sony and Microsoft's next consoles which most consumers will see as the true next generation console experiences.

Nintendo relies on game franchises that have been around for almost 30 years, and while I love and still own my original NES from when I was a kid, Nintendo has not grown up with me. Sony on the other hand has come out with numerous different franchises over the last two console generations which has caused the Playstation platform to boast the most diverse customer base in gaming today. Sony is also unifying all of their assets to create a shared ecosystem between the PS VITA, PS4, Bravia TVs, Smart Phones and Tablets. The most interesting of Sony's assets is GaiKai, which I personally believe will be the lynch pin to an explosion of market capitalization. Sony is about to change the gaming business, and they are about to change music and video entertainment, which I believe will be a huge threat to Apple in the coming years.

Microsoft on the other hand really only has three major exclusive games such as Halo/Gears of War/Forza, and has shown a self propelled momentum of around Warp 8(In Star Trek terms) moving them more towards the casual gamer and farther and farther away from their traditional core gaming audience. They are creating their own ecosystem across Smart Phones, Tablets, PCs and their Xbox Consoles, which puts them heads and tails above Nintendo when it comes to capabilities and overall appeal to the consumer.

I predict that when E3 comes around, that any excitement for the WiiU will be all but gone. Sony and Microsoft will steal the show at E3, laying the foundation for strong holiday sales, and a buzz for the gaming industry that hasn't been seen since the PS2 first entered the market. Of course the hardcore Nintendo fans will still be buying Nintendo's core games like Mario/Zelda/Metroid, but I don't believe the WiiU will last for more than 3 years at most.

I might have to start a blog since I could't fit everything I wanted to say into my comment :D

Monster Hunter really isn't a strong or must have unless you're either from Japan or you're one of the very few diehard fans outside of Japan.

Besides. Monster Hunter Ultimate 3rd is only exclusive here in the US. Most die hard Monster Hunter fans have already imported or, even though I'm not a fan of piracy, downloaded Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for the PSP which is the exact same game. Not the exact same. 3G is a very very very slight upgrade. Capcom is well known for releasing the same game with subtle changes.

Unless they already own a 3DS, I wouldn't think those that have Portable 3rd would spend $170 to purchase the 3DS and a game they already own or already have access to. Although I'm sure they'd buy a 3DS for Monster Hunter 4's release.

I don't keep up with monster hunter games very much, but i played monster hunter something on my psp years ago. Is this the same game as that? Not sure what the difference between freedom, unite, tri and 3 is suppose to be, but the screenshots kinda looked similar.

This is one of those instances where the naming of the game is making me hesitant to buy it. I didn't really enjoy handheld controls for a monster hunter game but wouldn't mind trying it on an actual console with an internet connection.

Not the first time we've seen articles moaning about poor sales when the console has only been on the market a couple of months. Is it too much to ask to give it time before we start writing it off? I guess so. When the Wii hit, it was $250 and by far the cheapest console offering of the next gen while the other consoles were slugging it out at hundreds more. The Wii-U is pricier than the Wii and contending with two established consoles with a few years left under their belts. No one could have honestly believed we'd see a wii-like repeat.

It'll find it's audience. You have to give it more than a couple of months.

GO AWAY. you are the most annoying troll, and you'll only look utterly stupid when Wii U sales pick up just like the 3DS did. Look at how bad the 3DS did in its first few months. Look at it now. shut your mouth and if the system is still not doing well after a year, then talk.

@kneon - my thoughts exactly. that said I don't think any console will die early like dreamcast did( which I loved btw) ps2 had a DVD player and sega had financial problems, because of these issues sega had the risk was too high to continue production. Dream cast was ahead of its time too looking at the controller of the wiiU and dreamcast they are kinda similar. Nintendo isn't in too much trouble financially but unless we see a huge price cut like the 3ds I don't see the wiiU selling as much as the wii or 3ds. Let ps4/720 come out with a similar price of the wiiU the wiiU will sell like the 64. I wouldn't buy a wiiU if I had a choice between ps4/720 at the same price...fanboy feelings aside answer honestly..... Would you?

the evidence is hardening..and furthermore= a 7970m cost them 200 bucks...lets do the math...this console wouldn't cost less than minimum 500$ if you add cpu, storage and memory costs...there is no way for sony to pull something like this off...and with most recent rumours claiming sony to abandon the dualshock and going the Nintendo route I just can't see a powerful console being made for a reasonable price...

like fatstarr already posted...these rumours with the 7970m are bullshit

You make Sony fans look bad .. fanboy ! the Wii U is short on games,yes that's correct(I have a WiiU) but games are coming up,just like my PSVita is waiting for great games coming this year .. just go away,your fanboyish smell is reeking !

"with the rumoured specs of ps4 which makes it like 12 times the power of the wii u and the imminent announcement of ps4 the wii u crisis will get worse and not like the crytek games which i like on pc. wii u is rubbish and finished "

i would NOT count on ps4 or nextbox being anywhere near as much as 12x the wii u, maybe, MAYBE 2x if we are lucky, they will both be using laptop gpu's and low clocked 1.6ghz 8 core cpu with 4gb ram, basically they will be akin to a good gaming laptop

nowhere in the realm of 12x anything, heck, they won't even be 12x the vita, let alone 12x the wii u

ps4/nextbox will be great, and surely a step above the wii u, but, in the most likely scenerio, they will be about on par with a nice quality gaming laptop, able to deliver 1080p gaming, with crisp, anti aliased edges, a rock solid 30fps with no screen tearing and most of the high end effects enabled, a huge leap over what we get with last gen ps3/360

You dream. When the triple A's start coming nothing is gonna be able to stop the WiiU train. F zero hd done, the eighth generation home video game console war is over. Legend of Zelda hd. done. A new three d Mario game in hd. b' bye. A new Mario Kart in hd. Game over the good guys win again!
The fact that the PS3 is "super powered" is why it's battling the 360 for last place. Difficult and extremely expensive to produce soft ware for. Why do a lot of ports that run in sixty frames per on the Xbox 360 run at 30 fames per on the PS3. Why does Black Ops 2 run the worst on the PS3? Difficult and extremely expensive to develop for.
This "rumored" twelve times more powerful than the WiiU PS4 today might as well be an illusion. I don't think it exists but say it did... who is going to be able to afford to develop games for it? I don't know. The WiiU is a great system and in a year or so it'll probably be the least expensive and easy to develop for. That's why the good guys win again. A beautifully designed video game console with a amazing new controller. Vastly improved online set up. Incredible new way to interact with your entertainment center. Indestructable hardware, the best first party software in the business period.
At least you'll be able to console yourselves with the fact that, "There's nothing wrong with silver!"

Wii U is going to be just fine once the first party franchise games start rolling out. PS4 will be an overall better experience for me personally, but that doesn't mean I can't own both (which I will). Wii U will probably see sales similar to the GameCube IMO.

It still has the head start. this article is terribly short sighted and is failing to look at the history of the game industry. playstation 2 had simiar issues out of the gate as did the 360. only to later become the perferred console reguardless of power. seems like whatever everyone is looking at they aren't looking at anything outside of numbers for wii u for a week by week basis. Not to mention worldwide sales are completely ignored these are only japan numbers right here. Numbers historically not indicative of any significance.

It still is selling considerably better than ps3's launch and graphics don't matter to the video game market as proven by ds, playstation, ps2, and wii.

Think this is just more of the same from "games journalists". Sony does bad it means nothing, microsoft does bad it means nothing, Nintendo does bad, IT'S A CRISIS!(just like the 3ds right?)

So what does this have to do with the Wii U...you might be asking... Simple just like devs didn't make games for the 360/PS3 when they only had sold a few million consoles, the Wii U is now in the same boat, and thus won't get some games simply because of that.

Oh and the same will happen to PS4/720...though I doubt you'll say they are DOOMED because of it. Because, they aren't....it's NATURAL.

Nintendo is doomed, ha.

Wii U isn't rubbish, your opinion is, and flies in the face of all history, facts, and common sense

I don't know what's more sad; that ANOTHER negative article is getting a lot more buzz than any of the more open or positive articles or that Akuma is getting agrees for another one of his crappy troll comments.

The article is by yahoo news and not by some Playstation or XBOX fanboy blog. I think they are a lot more credible than Nintendo fanboy articles who only see a rosy future for their beloved console based on just wishful thinking. The sales are a clear indication of lack of consumer interest. Wii U is in trouble and they need to get their act together if they want to compete in the hardcore arena this generation.

Rainslacker, Sony fans are but pale imitations of Nintendo fans from the Gamecube period who were themselves somehow only a a little worse than Sega fans during the Dreamcast period. Sony fans were pretty mellow and reasonable during the PSX and PS2 era. The PS3 era is when Sony fans started drooling and freaking out and making gamers everywhere sad with their idiotic paranoia and rage. The $599 and 360 being about the same when they were promised cell miracles really made the Sony guys flip their wigs and become the sad obsessed pathetic freaks of the gaming world.

Couldn't that interpretation be extended to all fan boys of any system though. All sides seem to have their extremes this gen.

Prior gens the internet wasn't anything like it's been since the mid-PS2 days, so while fanboys and trolls were around, they were much less noticeable, and believe it or not, often ignored...strange concept, I know.

A fan boy...as you describe them...are an annoyance to all. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of a system, but when it's taken to extremes, like we often see, it makes everyone look bad, not just on their respective "sides", but on the whole gaming community in general.

It's bad enough we have console wars like we do now, we shouldn't also have troll and fan boy wars as well...ie.who's the worst.

I would like to see Nintendo show more hunger for 3rd party support. There seem to be a lot of big games due in the coming months that really should have a Wii U version but don't. Alternatively, if they think they can rely on their own games, then show them to us!

I own a WiiU and don't like it. I have buyers remorse, if anything. I played ZombiU and NSMBU for about a week, then I went right back to my PS3 and PC. It's getting harder and harder to justify Nintendo hardware in the living room.

I understand all you people who bought the wii u feel like you have to defend it and I am not saying it's a bad system .But it really needs software sooner rather then later . Also it's being out sold by ps3 and xbox 360 which are 7 years old and that's just the facts it moved less then 16,000 units less week compared to 43,000 by 360 that's not good no matter how you spin it. They can't wait tell e3 to show there games they need to move units now by showing Zelda, Metroid prime and smash bros.Which would generate a lot more interest and would be great. I don't want to see this console fail but as of now it is...

Not sure if you know this but for its first three year the xbox360 and ps3 was outsold by the ps2. Just a little reality check. Fact is,these "older" systems are selling due to holiday price cuts on top of the normal price reductions that come with age. I would also like to add that with thst age those same systems have thousands of games to choose from. Its not that bad it still have time, lets just see what happens next year why dont we?

Just a little reality check this console isn't selling and there are two much more powerful systems coming out, best way to counter is show awesome software which they aren't. Oh by the way wii u will get no 3rd party support when next xbox/ps launch it will be just like the wii with the 360 now....

@jer1122 Nintendo will have to counter the next Xbox and PS with software. When they're actually announced. They can't counter something that doesn't exist. People who aren't like us that read gaming news everyday don't know there are probably two new systems coming out this year.

The console is selling fine. The two systems you speak of won't be that much more powerful, it's impossible....they aren't going to even be a midrange PC from last year.

My GTX 670 and i7 920 @ 4ghz will stomp a PS4/720. That's a processor from 2009 and a midrange graphics card from May 2012. By the time the PS4/720 come out it'll either be the GTX 7 line or 8 line. All depends what year they come out late 2013 or late 2014.

The Wii U gets tons of 3rd party support, which is evidenced all around you...if you close your eyes and don't see 3rd party support, doesn't make you right.

All the consoles will be fine and fun, but let's not treat the Wii U like it'll suck and the 720/PS4 will be uber. Because none of the consoles will be uber or anything close to it. They'll all be fun though.

Yep, the Wii U is doomed, it had a terrible launch and no games coming in the foreseeable future, no other system has experience this in it's first year and survived...except for the PS3...and 3DS...and Vita... wait, why are we all doom and gloom about stuff that happens during every console launch again? Oh right, Nintendo!

Every system launch is like this, fanboys will always see it as the ultimate chance to attack the system when it's at it weakest, basically when it's a, how should a put this... "newborn". Yeah that's pretty much how I'll describe a system launch, fanboys are sort of using the chance to beat on a newborn baby because it hasn't really had a chance to grow.

It was the same with the PS3, the 3DS and the Vita. Give the damn thing some time to get some more games, the thing just turned two months old and people are already saying there is a crisis. Seems system launches are never gonna change...

People still have no clue what the Wii u is. Several people think it is just a tablet add on. Nintendo has done an awful job in the advertising department. I have enjoyed my time with the system so far. I did not care for the Wii and regret that purchase, but so far this system has exceeded my expectations. Games will come, I'd rather they release full working versions rather than the patch riddled titles we have been getting this gen.

I noooooo Sony fans are not talkin trash when it comes to waiting for a good game to come out for their system after launch.....lol now that's funny. I can't tell u how many years went by before my 600$ paperweight was actually some what useful. Disagree all u want but the ps3 had NO must have games for atleast 2 yrs after launch. I own all current gen systems since they launched and none of them had a must have game at lunch or even a yr after. Give the damn Wii U time u nerds

Well this is simple answer when the ps3 came out it didn't have to worry about two brand new consoles launching that were more powerful. Wii u is already selling crappy and m$ and sony haven't even launched yet...

How do I sound like a troll? By stating a fact? Can u prove me wrong? Go ahead ill wait. Times up! I'm far from a troll so get ur facts straight. But you seem like someone who only owns one console and I'm sure I can guess which one that is. Ur master needs to teach u a new trick because that "your a troll " line ur barking is played out.

Get in line, your kind have been predicting the fall of Nintendo since the N64... The vita is way more powerful than the 3ds and has no bearing on how that system is selling and the PS3 had no relevancy on how the Wii sold. WiiU will make its claim in the 8th gen when Nintendo finally gets serious by showing and releasing the 1st party titles that are being worked on for the system.

lol...haters please get over yourselves...the wiiu is around the 3 million mark sells in two months...how was the psvita doing at two months time at a lower price with good press and good commercials...how was the ps3 or 360 doing/>>? point is wiiu sales will only go up as nintendo advertise it better and as the games start coming...so the only one worried are haters....us wiiu owners and supports knows nitenddo's track record...we all saw how 3ds was able to destroy the competition and sell through the roof after going through the same nonsense and hate through a certain extent.

Seeing how this is an article about imminent console adoption failure... bringing up the vita is relevant. A year and being outsold by it's competitor at 5 to 1... It's basically comparing concerns based in reality and concerns based in sensationalistic short sighted analysis.

I'm honestly shocked that there are still no articles on how bad sony is doing right now compared to nintendo when that's something that needs to be talked about ASAP instead of pretending it's not happening and claiming the company that still is making profits is somehow failing based on famitsu week by week numbers in nowhere else but japan. Post Holiday season, where sales for everything of course will take a dip.

Again, I fail to see what the Vita has to do with the WiiU. You're comparing a console to a handheld. And Sony isn't doing as bad as you say they're doing, otherwise they wouldn't have bought out another company.

Another thing, the Vita is still new. Maybe you should wait before you start writing it off as a failure...?

Just down vote these sites.. I may have my issues with the Wii U from a hardware standpoint but I still own one and even I get sick of this crap. I know what it feels like being a person who loves the PS Vita, not like I haven't sifted through tons of those fail articles..

Also just want to point out launches don't matter too much really it matters more what you make at the end of a cycle. Not insulting the Wii U launch sales just saying it's too soon to actually say if it's sales now will actually matter or even mean anything later on.

What people also don't understand is all these companies are losing money fairly recently so it isn't that big of a deal just yet, it's no doubt just like Sony has been if Nintendo needed to they could get the money to push the Wii U even if it was struggling somehow. These guys aren't completely broke yet and they have back up plans for times like these trust me.

They will shell out all the cash they have to make sure they stay in the industry as long as they can or until they just can't bleed anymore. They could also just layoff some employees or separate divisions they have around the world.

Like I said shit hasn't hit the fan just yet for anyone. If anything Sony is fighting the hardest right now, Nintendo is feeling the hurt Sony is but no where near the same level so no worries and well Microsoft will always be rich as all fuck so that is nothing new.. Damn you Windows.

Every system has a drought in the beginning of its life. Look at what happened to the 3DS in the beginning and look at it now. The Wii U will have to go through the same thing unless the sales are so bad that Nintendo panics and applies a massive price drop like the 3DS. But i dont think that will happen until the other Next gen systems get their prices confirmed.

Move! is factualy a better version of the Wii Mote. And Wonderbook is just a nice little thing for the kids, thats all it is, and thats all its been promoted as, not pushed down the troats of core gamers, you know, like MS did with kinect.

Great read, its what said December 2012.
The sad part is, the Wii U should have released in 2006...
Theres just no practicality in paying so much for cheap tech in 2013!
Two screens, arkward to watch both, irrelevent tech.

I rememberThe same thing being said about the Vita and 3DS. People like you were claiming Vita would blow the 3DS out of the water. Who is to say the PS4 will fair any better than the Vita? Just curious, because I have a feeling the next gen is going to be a sea of red for many players.

I agree with you on this one! I remember when the Ps3 was announced and all of the Sony fanboys were adamant that everyone that bought a PS2 would jump on board to the PS3. That still hasn't happened... Honestly why do so many here believe that the masses will migrate to the new consoles from the current ones if all they offer are better HD graphics? Sony is already dealing with this very same issue on the handheld front with trying to convince psp owners to buy into the vita, they could very well face the same issue when PS4 arrives and the PS3 just starts to reach a mass market price.ea

U Mii, Wii all fucked! lol! I love watching Nintendo fall from the throne. Their ego needs a good swift kick in the ass, haha! It's the same thing that happened to Sony with the PS3 launch. Sony was on top. Then their ego ruined everything. Thought we'd buy a 700 dollar system, just because PS2 was the #1 console at the time. Ha!

Wii U is okay I guess....but there is a reason why I recently purchased a 360 slim as my 2nd console over Wii U *so late in this gen cycle...

Wii U does not appeal to my gaming needs. N4G Nintendo heads can't understand as a mature gamer I don't wanna play cartoons and cutesy games.

Yeh, there's a few mature titles...but nothing over and beyond what can be experienced on much more affordable hardware.

It may be early days for Wii U, but already a worryingly high percentage of 3rd party studios are already dismissing the Wii U due to commitment to upcoming hardware and possibly having to down scale (already??) to Wii U specs.